Sports

Monday Morning Quarterback: The Good, The Bad Of Week 7

Matchup

The Good

The Bad

Indianapolis Colts

Denver Broncos

With former Colt hero Peyton Manning in the house leading the prolific Denver offense, Andrew Luck stole the show. He threw three TD passes and he did not have an interception and he also ran for a touchdown. Just a stellar performance for Luck.

Manning had solid numbers, but he was not the best quarterback at Lucas Oil Stadium and the Broncos lost for the first time this season. That’s not what Manning wanted in his return to Indianapolis.

Ben Roethlisberger did not have a huge statistical day, but the Steelers came away with an important victory over their archrivals. Roethlisberger completed 17-of-23 passes for 160 yards with one TD and no interceptions.

Joe Flacco was not bad as he completed 23-of-34 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown, but he did not do enough to get the slumping Ravens the victory. That’s very disappointing for head coach John Harbaugh.

It was a typical Aaron Rodgers game, and that means it was yet another sharp performance. Rodgers completed 25-of-36 passes for 260 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. He torched the Cleveland secondary with his precise passes.

Brandon Weeden plays with plenty of heart, but he was in over his head against the Packers, completing 17-of-42 passes for 149 yards with one TD and one interception. That’s not good enough.

Colin Kaepernick looked fairly good throwing the football, but he was dangerous running with it again as he scored on a 20-yard TD run. Kaepernick threw for 199 yards and he did not have an interception, and that’s always a key factor when a team is trying to win on the road.

Jake Locker made a remarkable recovery from his hip injury and he was back in the lineup. While he competed hard (326 yards and two TDs), the Titans never appeared to have a chance of winning this game.

The best news for the Redskins is that Robert Griffin III looked like RGIII once again. He threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns and he also ran for 84 yards. This was by far his best game of the season.

Just a disaster for the Bears as Jay Cutler (groin) went out of the game early with a serious injury. Josh McCown looked good in throwing for 204 yards and a touchdown, but the Bears have little chance of winning without Cutler.

It looks like Tony Romo has taken it up a level this year. While he did not have a stellar statistical game, he threw for 317 yards and a touchdown and he looked like he was going to do whatever it took to win the game for the Cowboys.

Nick Foles was unable to sustain any kind of offense for the Eagles before going out of the game with a head injury. He had an awful day, completing just 11-of-29 passes.

Geno Smith did what he had to in ending his team’s five-game losing streak to the Patriots. He completed 17-of-33 passes for 233 yards and he threw a TD pass to Jeremy Kerley. Smith was able to take advantage of his opportunity and he did not look like a rookie.

Tom Brady looked quite excited because he was able to throw to Rob Gronkowski for the first time this season. After a solid first half in which the Pats built a 21-10 lead, Brady lost his way when he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown early in the third quarter. That gave the Jets life and they got back in the game and eventually won it.

Another super-sharp effort from Philip Rivers, who appears to have taken his game to a new level this year. Rivers completed 22-of-26 passes and simply dissected the Jacksonville defense as he threw for 285 yards and one touchdown.

Chad Henne did as well as he could in completing 23-of-36 passes for 318 yards, but he could not find the endzone and he threw one interception.

While Andy Dalton missed a few open receivers, he had an excellent day as he completed 24-of-34 passes for 372 yards and three TDs, and he did not turn the ball over.

Not much to complain about with Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford as he threw for 357 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. However, the Lions could not come up with the important victory at home, and some of that is on Stafford.

That’s more like it for Matt Ryan. After struggling so badly in the first five games of the season, Ryan found his mojo even though he didn’t have Julio Jones or Roddy White. He completed 20-of-26 passes for 273 yards and three TDs without an interception.

Mike Glennon did quite well for the Bucs as he did not throw an interception while throwing for 256 yards and two TDs. However, he came up short and could not bring home Tampa Bay’s first victory of the year.

The more Pete Carroll sees of Russell Wilson, the better he feels about his team’s future. Wilson is simply dependable and he was sharp once again vs. Arizona. He completed 18-of-29 passes for 235 yards and three TDs.

Carson Palmer had a decent day as he completed 30-of-45 passes for 258 yards, but he threw two interceptions and he also fumbled once. He lacks the dependability factor.